City of Oxford College students celebrated after raising £2,000 for MindGreen
A class of A Level psychology students have been celebrated at City of Oxford College with an award ceremony after raising £2,000 for the college’s mental health charity, MindGreen. This cohort of students are among the first to join as MindGreen Youth Ambassadors, taking on various challenges to raise crucial funds.
MindGreen aims to raise funds to support Activate Learning students and staff struggling with their mental health, delivering projects that are beyond the scope of our usual funding streams.
Gary Headland DL, Chief Executive of Activate Learning, said: “Mental health and wellbeing is a topic incredibly close to my heart.
“The launch of our MindGreen initiative, was a way of demonstrating our commitment to the wellbeing of both staff and students within our college communities, and what these students have achieved is extraordinary.
“Having spent time with them on the fundraising initiatives, I was so impressed by their commitment to this cause and their desire to help those in our college community who are struggling with their mental health.”
Sarah Price, psychology teacher at City of Oxford College, said: “Our students have always shown a deep empathy for mental health, and their response to a fundraising challenge on behalf of MindGreen was overwhelmingly positive.
“They undertook a wellbeing challenge linked to exercise, step counts or social media bans while being sponsored by their friends, family and the community. The students involved have – since the challenge ended in many cases – carried on these well-being activities, noting that their mental health improved by taking part.
“We are all very proud that these students have shone a light on mental health, and many are continuing as MindGreen Youth Ambassadors to continue the work they have started. MindGreen is a fund created to deliver practical, targeted interventions for everyone across Activate Learning suffering from their mental health, delivering projects that are beyond the scope of our usual funding streams.”
“We’re looking forward to hearing about how the MindGreen committee put all the money raised throughout this week to good use for our learners and staff.”
The Youth Ambassador role allows students to take part in social action activities while raising funds for MindGreen. These activities include volunteering, fundraising and raising awareness.
Francesca, A Level student at City of Oxford College, said: “I did a 5k run every day for a week and managed to raise £89 for MindGreen!
“I chose to take part in this cause because I believe that mental health is a very prominent and important topic that affects people of all ages. Some people still don’t believe that mental health is real or is a significant issue, which is why I think it’s important to raise money to create awareness and support for those suffering.
“The challenge also helped to improve my mental health as the whole experience was very rewarding!”
Rubie, A Level student at City of Oxford College, said: “For my challenge I did 10,000 steps a day for a week.
“I wanted to take part in this challenge because I believe mental health is so important but not talked about enough and is a hidden issue that has caused people to hide what they are feeling. Raising awareness is key to changing this view.
“Taking a part in this challenge gave me something to aim for which helped improve my mental health.”
Shinade, A Level student at City of Oxford College, said: “I did 15,000 steps every day for two weeks, and a sponsored 5k run with other MindGreen Youth Ambassadors. Over this time, I raised £150.
“I chose to support this MindGreen initiative and become an ambassador because this issue is widely spread and has several misconceptions that need to be changed.
“Raising this small amount of money is the least I could do to support this cause that affects thousands of people in the UK. Especially my peers who don’t always have access to mental health support or must wait months for care.
“This challenge has evoked a major change within the way I act from a day-to-day basis. Also, it influenced me to help start up a ‘Charity of the Term’ at the martial arts club that I do. It hasn’t officially launched yet, but we are hoping for it to run next year.”
Learn more about study programmes at City of Oxford College or contact Activate Learning on 0800 612 6008.
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